A Scottish grandmother has become an unlikely internet star after footage of her bursting into fits of laughter while reading to her baby grandson went viral.
Janice Clark won a legion of fans after she was captured on video wheezing with laughter while reading children’s book The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith to her four-month-old grandson. The book has been amusing parents and children alike since it was first published in 2009 and tells the story of a three-legged donkey who adds a new adjective to his name with every page until he’s eventually known has the spunky, hanky-panky, cranky stinky dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.
In the hilarious footage, Janice is seen doing her best to engage her tiny grandson, who by the way appears thoroughly disinterested in the book. She lets off a tiny laugh when she finishes the first page and it’s evidently a sign of things to come. By the second page, the laugh gets louder and eventually, she’s wheezing with laughter so much she can’t complete her sentences.
“I really like this book,” she giggles at one point in the video. “I don’t think the wee one’s interested.
Her face begins to turn red and it’s quickly apparent that she’s having more fun than her little grandson.
She does her best to continue, but it all gets too much for her when she begins snorting with laughter. At one points, tears of joy can even be seen rolling down her cheeks.
“This is gonna kill me,” she jokes. “Nae more!”
Although difficult between her laughs, Janice eventually finished the story. Since being uploaded to Facebook last week, the clip has been viewed more than 6 million times and earned the lovable grandmother an array of new fans.
One person on Facebook wrote: “They say that laughter makes you younger. Well after watching this grandmother recite this book, I laughed myself back 20 years. Loved it. I intend to get a bit more younger today.”
It’s also done wonders for the book’s sales figures in the UK, with publisher Hachette telling The Guardian it’s rushing to print 50,000 new copies to keep up with demand. The book has been hugely popular in author Smith’s native New Zealand as well as Australia, but previously struggled to find an audience overseas. It looks like that’s all about to change now with the delightful book likely to show up in a few Christmas stockings in December.